Wednesday, February 27, 2008

We have our first matches this weekend and there will be plenty of rugby to go around. Washington Irish have jumped in to fill Warrenton's spot, so we are once again at four teams which means that West Pot will have three matches.

Below is the match schedule and -- as you can imagine -- we are going to have to get going early to get six matches in before dark. That means we will need rookies to plan on getting out to Colmar no later than 7:30 am to help us get the field set up and ready to go. Everyone else should be there by 8:30 at the latest if you intend to be eligible for selections in our first match.

Also, we are having a fund raiser for Men Against Breast Cancer at the drink up, so PLEASE spread the word to friends, families, and coworkers so that we can pack Hamilton's and drink them out of PBR for a good cause. Here is an e-flier that you can send around with info:

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

this Friday, 2/29, leap day, DJ Strange & DJ Medusa. they got the mad leaps, bring some of your own

(and JJ and Leah are getting married out in Colorado, we love them, here's a picture of JJ below the flier. don't worry Leah, we'll send a picture of you soon)

and Saturday, 3/1, US Royalty on the decks, that's Jake and Luke, they made this flier and slipped some other promo on it but it's cool, they're great kids and DC9 has always been one of our absolute most favoritist places to hang. in fact, they opened on a Valentine's Day 4 years ago...

it's dangerous to single out individuals for thanks when so many contribute, but we absolutely must call out BreakBeatBuddha for his gravity-bending set sunday (dear lord it was like turning concrete to liquid), as well as vocalist Robert Manos' stunning improv on the mic throughout the night. mark these words, Tanc & Tiernan's Dive and Lie Wrecked promotions will be legendary in the years to come, it's not too often you have to run air-conditioning on a february night...

dysfunctionally yours,

troy&dawn&mark

ALSO: few of us have time to stay on top of what's interesting and challenging, so here's are a couple of DC's promoters that help bring the goods to our house. check out these links, save 'em if you like the vibe, if they're pushing it you'll prolly dig it: * www.xindc.tv.com & www.eightyeigthdc,com * www.brightestyoungthings.com

Saturday, February 16, 2008

My man Darios just opened up his own shop called District Cutters that's located behind the new cigar joint on Florida, I met him when we was cutting at Mason's down on H St. The place is small, only three chairs, but newly finished so it's super comfortable and clean.

I recognize the other barber that was there from Mason's but I don't know his name, it turns out that this other barber, Darios, and the dude waiting with me for a cut are all from Boston. It was interesting to hear these cats old-timing about Boston; talking about the bus routes they used to take and getting chased out of Cambridge by the brothers that lived there. For all the hue and cry about young Black men and how everyone is so afraid of them, the real truth is that they're much more of a danger to each other than they are to everyone else. I say "they" because me and the other bros at the barbershop yesterday are all in our mid to late 30's, we are (for the most part) out of the danger zone; we have been lucky and/or smart enough to make it past the years when an error in judgment was more likely to be fatal or land us in jail.

All the years that I was cutting my own hair I forgot the sense of spiritual renewal that I tend to get from going to the barber shop. I know that sounds kind of corny, but there's really nothing quite like it. Where else can you go where you will find preachers, teachers, thugs, cops, executives, janitors, politicians, construction workers, etc. all existing in perfect harmony? The barber shop is neutral ground, everyone leaves their bullshit at the door and is free to speak their mind. Sometimes that freedom to speak your mind leads people to say some unbelievably stupid things, like the time these guys were speculating that all White people were pre-disposed towards bestiality. I probably should have said something to the contrary, but I was laughing too hard at the ridiculous anecdotes being related to make any kind of strong argument. Still, just listening that day gave me some interesting insight into how whack stereotypes come into being.

There was also a dope ass classic Impala parked outside too, check it out.

Friday, February 15, 2008

So I got an iPhone for Christmas (It's not something I would have ever bought for myself, but I already had Cingular service so it was a pretty cool gift) and I've been pretty happy with it for the most part. But tonight I'm sitting on the couch with the wife about ten minutes ago and my phone starts blowing up; text messages and voice mails from three hours earlier in the night. The wife then told me that she has called more than a few times and couldn't get me on the phone; during the day that makes sense because there are dead spots all over the building I work in, but the rest of the time that shit shouldn't be happening.

I'm more than a little annoyed because the VM was about something fairly important (selling these fucking condos, more on that later) and the text was about something VERY important: an invitation for some rugby team related boozing.

Ya know people like to hate on Microsoft as the epitome of a greedy, evil corporation; but Apple is every bit as bad and maybe worse because they act like they're a bunch of hippies that want to do the right thing, but the reality is they're every bit as bad as M$. Fuckers.

AT&T/Cingular get your shit together, you should be able to handle a slight uptick in messaging traffic on a Friday night.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

WifeRat felt deprived last year because we didn't make it down to South Florida like we usually do at some point during the Winter, so we're taking a long weekend down there to get our chill on. PoppaRat is from Miami and his youngest brother, UncleRat, still lives in the area; so we'll spend the first night down there with him and his family and the rest of the time we'll be staying down in South Beach with WifeRat's best friend and her family.

The weather is supposed to be pretty nice down there this weekend so WifeRat wants to go to the beach, but having family from down there I feel like it's really touristy to go to the beach in February.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

There's something so inspiring about this guy that I'm thinking about pushing all my chips into the middle of the table, saying, "Fuck it!", and getting into the mess of American politics. I'm actually contemplating leaving my pretty decent job, working for Obama's campaign, and hoping I can parlay that into a full-time gig on staff somewhere when he wins. I don't believe in every plank in Obama's platform, but there's enough there that I do actually believe in that I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should get involved.

At the same time, there's the pragmatic/cynical side of me that knows that Obama is a politician and that I should protect myself from him and the broken heart that is almost sure to come if I allow myself to feel, to care, and to believe in what he's saying. I mean, I'm just one man; one flawed man; one weak man; one selfish man; one unimportant man. What difference can I possibly make?